Originally Posted by DirtfishinView post
Do you know if anyone has trained dogs to sniff out gold? I've always wonder because of the sniffing ability. Rats and mice have even a keener sniffer over dogs. And dogs love to dig. just a thought..

I have never heard of anybody training a dog to sniff for gold, but I guess it could be done.

If it was possible, it would've been done already, but how can a dog sniff-out the inert composition of metal? I'm pretty sure they can only sniff-out organic materials because they're sniffing the cells organic material shed. Metals don't shed cells. However, finding locations privy to have gold may be possible, because there are certain things found in gold bearing quartz veins similar to pyrite/sulfide oxides. In other words, Fido wont be able to find a ring or a nugget in the park you're hunting.

Really don't think so. Pretty sure we smell the same things dogs do, it's more in the concentration of the odor. Things that have to be pretty much under our nose, a dog can find a few feet away. I've got a black Lab, with a pretty good nose, and I make him work fore his treats. I'll hid them in the back yard, some about 3 feet off the ground, under things he can move aside. He usually goes out and hits known spots first, so got to move things around each time. Then he's got his nose up, and into the wind, and goes to work. Usually doesn't take more than 5 minutes for find 6 treats. Haven't buried any, he digs enough holes, but usually fills them in, when he's hiding something. Also digs some to lay in, which he leaves for me to fix.

...Just the other day the local news reported about a very young local girl (4 yrs old, I think) who is allergic to peanuts and had an almost life-ending experience recently due to her eating something that contained peanut oil or something of the sort. Somehow, they now I have a dog that is like a seeing eye dog (therapy dog, not sure what to call it) so to speak, anyhow this dog is trained to alert if she smells peanuts of any kind. Whether it be an actual nut or anything at all containing peanuts of any kind the dog will alarm the girl or parents. I just thought that I'd share this considering the topic.

I agree with the others, I don't believe gold to have a distinct odor of it's own.

Originally Posted by bruinvikesView post
I just thought that I'd share this story in this thread...

...Just the other day the local news reported about a very young local girl (4 yrs old, I think) who is allergic to peanuts and had an almost life-ending experience recently due to her eating something that contained peanut oil or something of the sort. Somehow, they now I have a dog that is like a seeing eye dog (therapy dog, not sure what to call it) so to speak, anyhow this dog is trained to alert if she smells peanuts of any kind. Whether it be an actual nut or anything at all containing peanuts of any kind the dog will alarm the girl or parents. I just thought that I'd share this considering the topic.

I agree with the others, I don't believe gold to have a distinct odor of it's own.

There was a school in Central Florida last year, that had to ban all peanut products, thoroughly sanitize and remove every trace of peanuts. They even brought in peanut sniffing dogs. The girl was six, and her dad felt his daughter was entitled to a fabulous public school education. Thought it was way overboard, and had to cost a lot of time and tax dollars. Small children aren't always going to understand or follow the rules and policies, adults either. Her allergy was considered severe, meaning that if she ate something peanut, it could very well kill her, before getting to a hospital. Getting some on her skin, would still require a fast response. I wouldn't have put my child to such risk, just because I had the right to make it happen.

Wish I could have train my dog to do something useful with his nose, took so much time to keep that nose out of trouble, and he's a little slow learning...

One of my dogs goes with me on about half of my hunts. He is on a 6 foot leash. I let him mostly pick the direction of the hunt. Every good target I dig I have him sniff at it. The hunts that he is with me I generally find more good stuff than when I don't bring him. An yes I have found gold with that dog with me. I don't think dogs can smell the metals ,but maybe they can smell the organic matter that is on the metals.
An other thing I have noticed over the years is that I have found a fair amount of coins and some jewelry in close proximity to aminal fesies. It made me start to wonder If the animal smelled the foreign object in the ground and that helped him pick the spot to do their business.

If dogs can be trained to sniff out anything important I think you have to start out when they are pups. Because my cocker spaniel named Lainey was only interested in sniffing out treats! I had to put down Lainey a few years ago due to her ailing health. RIP Lainey!

I have a hunting dog and when my wife and I are in the hot tub we always bring out a coin pennie dime quarter whatever we have and he will come up to the side of the hot tub and wait for you to throw it. I can launch it acrossed the yard day or night and he will bring it back in no time.....I have always thought about working with my next pup in the art of gold and silver findings....stay posted haha

When I was a kid, we had a German Shepard and lived on heavily wooded property.

I could pick a random rock off the ground, make sure it was unique enough for me to remember what it looked like and throw it as far as I could into the woods. At seven years old, I'm not sure how far that would be.

Even if it it took an hour, which it usually didn't, that dog would waltz up to me after I had gone off and done something else and drop that slobbery rock at my foot.

Of course he was picking the rock that had my scent on it but it was crazy how he could find it.

If a person wanted to make sure their dog was actually finding something unique or trained to find, whether it be gold or anything else, they would need to make sure that their scent is not on the object that has been buried, hidden or thrown.

I'm going to try that with my current dog and see if she will do the same thing. It would be fun if nothing else.